Hard Knox: Giants blow what would’ve been a Tennessee-themed win for Tony Vitello

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants were one pitch away from a victory that would’ve satisfied two sets of orange-clad fans Monday night.

Rookie right-hander Blade Tidwell flashed dominant stuff into the sixth inning while holding the Houston Astros to one run. Center fielder Drew Gilbert hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh and leapt at the warning track to take away an extra-base hit in the ninth. Giants manager Tony Vitello coached both players at the University of Tennessee. Everything pointed toward a rare night for Vitello to celebrate in what’s been a difficult maiden season in pro baseball.

But there was no Knoxville-themed party. Just another night in a season of hard knocks.

The Giants could not protect a one-run lead in the ninth in an eventual 6-3 loss. Right-hander Dylan Smith issued a one-out walk and threw a wild pitch that moved pinch runner Nick Allen to second base, then Allen raced home after Cam Smith’s slow ground ball ticked off the glove of second baseman Osleivis Basabe and trickled into right field. The Astros scored their placed runner in the 10th inning, plus some more, against right-hander Jason Foley — another walk! another wild pitch! — and in the bottom of the 10th, Vitello passively sent up three left-handed lambs against Astros left-handed closer Josh Hader to bring a feeble end to the night on the shores of McCovey Cove.

The Giants dropped to 49-70, and are 21 games under .500 for the first time since the last day of their 98-loss season in 2017. They’d have to go 14-29 or better the rest of the way to avoid the second 100-loss season in the franchise’s West Coast era, and with a roster that’s been depleted by injuries and the trade deadline, there appear to be no depths to which they cannot sink.

It turns out that failure, no matter how spectacular it might be, does not make for compelling viewing. The announced attendance of 28,070 marked the first time all season that the Giants failed to draw 30,000 fans.

After the game, Vitello was asked why he took out Tidwell with two out and two on in the sixth, passing up what might have been a learning moment for the rookie right-hander. Vitello’s answer revealed more than the thought process behind one pitching change.

“There’s a whole basket full of learning points that everybody behind me, and me, need to learn from and move forward,” Vitello said. “And at the same time, we’re kind of out of room for learning points. I realize we’re at a point in the year where we’re trying to give some guys some looks, if that’s a fair way to say it. But we’re trying to win ball games.”

When it comes to winning close and late, they’ve got plenty left to learn. The Giants are 10-20 in one-run games. Dylan Smith has been walked off in four different ballparks, and although it’s impossible to get walked off at home, his luck this season has been so lousy that he might find a way to do it. The Giants aren’t getting any breaks, nor are they finding ways to create them. They took another gut punch prior to Monday’s game when they learned that rookie catcher Daniel Susac had sustained a season-ending fracture to his left kneecap on Sunday, prompting them to call up yet another organizational player from a minor-league system that’s already been scrubbed of them.

That’s why Gilbert stood at his locker, downcast and speaking in hushed tones, on a night when he starred on both sides of the ball and watched his college teammate shove around a lineup that includes Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve.

“I just … I hate losing,” Gilbert said. “So as cool as it is to do well, when you lose, you have to look in the mirror. It’s not like I’m having a fantastic year. I can think of a lot more I could’ve done to help us win games.”

Tidwell couldn’t have done much more. His return to the rotation last week in Texas was encouraging even though his fastball was down a few ticks from the 96-98 mph he was throwing at Triple-A Sacramento. He tapped back into that velocity Monday night while getting 12 whiffs on his sweeping slider. According to Justice delos Santos of Bay Area News Group, it was the most whiffs any Giant has generated on a breaking pitch in a start this season.

Four of the 12 whiffs that Blade Tidwell induced with his sweeper were against Jose Altuve. And some of them were pretty ugly. pic.twitter.com/PHri0OGaEr

— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) August 11, 2026

“That’s the pitcher he’s gonna be,” Gilbert said. “The only thing that’s ever going to stop him is himself. You see the stuff. That’s a good lineup. I mean, they’ve maybe got a couple Hall of Famers there. For him to compete the way he did, give us a chance to win the ballgame, I think that’s who Blade Tidwell is going to be for us.”

Gilbert and Tidwell contributed their way to more than a few handshake lines at Tennessee. Gilbert was a junior and Tidwell was a draft-eligible sophomore in 2022 when the Vols went 50-12, won the SEC East Division, and reached the program’s first College World Series in 17 years. Three times that season — at Florida, at Mississippi State and in a home game against Alabama State — Tidwell was the winning pitcher and Gilbert hit a home run.

Did Vitello flash back to wearing Tennessee orange?

“A little bit,” Vitello said. “A little bit of Gilbert’s feistiness coming out more than anything  was a flashback. Blade’s so different than when he was with us. I think he’s matured a lot as a pitcher, and it’s helped him become a true starter. He was outstanding for us in the bullpen, but he’s trying to establish himself (in the rotation). And to listen to the way he talks about how he wants to use his pitches and certain things he was doing with the Sac club, you know, it’s impressive to watch.

“But probably the biggest flashback there is Drew. He showed it last year, he’s playing good ball overall, but there’s more in there that I think he can ignite in the dugout or in the clubhouse or just in general on the field. He’s at his best when he’s playing intense but under control. Delicate balance. But it’s fun to watch when he’s doing it tonight.“

Drew Gilbert rounds third after blasting a tie-breaking homer in the seventh inning Monday night against the Astros. (Bob Kupbens / Imagn Images)

Gilbert has been productive if not overwhelming against right-handed pitchers. He’s hitting .271/.361/.406 against them and has almost as many walks (24) as strikeouts (32). He isn’t getting anywhere near the defensive grades he earned last season — he misplayed a sun ball in Saturday’s sloppy loss to the Detroit Tigers — and a 2-for-36 line against left-handed pitchers has dragged down his overall numbers. Although the Giants probably owe an opportunity to Triple-A outfielder Turner Hill, a non-drafted free agent from Marietta College who has been tearing up the Pacific Coast League, there’s as much reason to keep running Gilbert out there as there would be to play anyone else.

But it’s Tidwell, not Gilbert, who looks like the real find in last year’s trade-deadline swap with the New York Mets for right-hander Tyler Rogers.

“When he came to school, he was such a wiry, athletic freak,” Gilbert said of Tidwell. “When you get to pro ball and you’re starting every fifth day, it takes a toll on your body. So he’s a little bigger now. But he’s evolved so much as a pitcher. He was able to overpower college hitters with two pitches. His repertoire has grown so much. I’ve gotten to see it since we were drafted, pretty much. He’s going to be a good arm in this league.”